PALEO DIET – IS IT OPTIMAL DIET FOR HUMANS?

Paleo diet consists of mainly a variety of fish and meat that were easily accessible to the prehistoric man.

Despite not being biologically identical to the Paleolithic predecessors of homo sapiens, there have been various studies regarding Paleo diet. The Paleolithic era was of 2.6 million years long with a varied climate which ensured that humans could adapt to different foods. The paleo diet is said to consist fruits, vegetables, meat, roots, and nut. Coffee, salt, alcohol, legumes, grains, dairy products, sugar and processed oils are said to have been excluded from the diet. Paleo diet is said to reject any processed food which is said to improve health.

HISTORY OF PALEO DIET

Gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin was the first one to create Paleo diet back in the 1970s. He claimed that by eating like our ancestors, we can become healthier than ever before. Various nutritionists and doctors supported his view and claimed that by following Paleo diet, one can see a reduction in problems like diabetes, Crohn’s disease, indigestion, obesity etc.

WHAT MAKES UP FOR A PALEO DIET?

Paleo diet consists of mainly a variety of fish and meat that were easily accessible to the prehistoric man. Nature provides a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds which also makes up the diet. In the diet, there is the absence of any kind of dairy product since the prehistoric man didn’t know how to raise animals. Since there was no crop cultivation back then, there is no scope for grains or processed flours. As for the sugar, honey is the only thing allowed. As there was hardly any salt back then, salt or processed foods are also not allowed in the diet.

IS PALEO DIET GOOD FOR HEALTH OF MODERN HUMANS?

The genetic makeup of modern human is different from ancient ones. Climate, geography and food have also evolved a lot from ancient times. Even animals today are too different from what they used to be back in time when they were consumed with food. Basically, palaeolithic food was different than what is available today.

So, the diet that worked for humans back then cannot be in the best interests of humans living today. The modern eating habits differ a lot from the paleo diet. Going back to the prehistoric times and adopting their diet isn’t good for modern humans owing to change in time, place, genes, food etc. The scary part is, in paleo times, children could not survive past the age of 15.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Even though paleo diet is said to improve the health of an individual, it can lead to a deficiency of calcium in the body.